Reason for sinking not but recognized after frigate IRIS Dena sends out misery name about 40 nautical miles (75km) off Sri Lankan coast.
Revealed On 4 Mar 2026
Sri Lanka says it has recovered a number of our bodies and rescued 32 wounded sailors after an Iranian army ship sank simply exterior the island’s territorial waters.
Authorities informed Al Jazeera the frigate IRIS Dena, positioned about 40 nautical miles (75km) off Galle in southern Sri Lanka, despatched out a misery name between 6am and 7am (00:30 to 01:30 GMT) on Wednesday.
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The reason for the misery was not but recognized. The ship had about 180 crew members on board, and a search and rescue operation was beneath approach.
The Iranian frigate was coming back from having taken half within the 2026 Worldwide Fleet Evaluate final month in japanese India’s coastal metropolis of Vishakapatnam.
Sri Lankan Overseas Minister Vijitha Herath informed parliament that the navy acquired data that the ship was in misery and the federal government despatched ships and air drive planes on a rescue mission.
A Sri Lankan navy spokesperson mentioned no different ship or plane was noticed within the space the place the Iranian warship sank.
Reporting from exterior a hospital in Galle, the place the wounded crew members had been taken, Al Jazeera’s Minnelle Fernandez mentioned Sri Lankan officers had been nonetheless making an attempt to determine what occurred to the almost 150 different crew members.
“The federal government has not mentioned something about potential causes of the accident,” she mentioned.
Fernandes mentioned an Iranian embassy official in Colombo mentioned two officers have been despatched to Galle “to speak to the survivors to get a way of what may need occurred on the ship”.
The warship’s sinking occurred as the USA and Israel conduct air strikes on Iran for a fifth day after killing Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei and almost 800 different folks, together with dozens of schoolgirls.
Tehran has responded with drone and missile assaults on Israel and US-linked belongings in Gulf nations, inflicting a number of fatalities. Six US service members have been killed and lots of others injured.
